Utah (13-16, 6-9 MWC) hosts UNLV (22-7, 10-5 MWC) Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. MT at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. The game will be televised on Versus. It will be Senior Day for the Runnin' Utes' only senior, forward Jay Watkins. J-Wat has been sidelined with a back injury and is unlikely to play in this contest. However, from my experience, he is a really cool guy and seems to be really good for team chemistry. Not to mention being a good rebounder and low-post presence on both ends of the floor. And on top of all that, he came over to the MUSS and gave me a fist bump before a game once this season. So his coolness is off the charts for that. Hopefully people will show up to support J-Wat and the Utes in the last home game of the season.
Utah lost a tough one Wednesday at Colorado State (19-10, 9-6 MWC) to snap the Utes' three-game winning streak. I was hopeful the Runnin' Utes could win that one and finish out the regular season at .500, but it was not to be, as CSU significantly outplayed them in the 2nd half. However, Utah needs to put that behind them and come out ready to go against the Runnin' Rebels. UNLV is a good team, but, if you ask me, not a great team. If Utah plays well, they should have a chance to win the game.
Utah needs to put it together now with focus and effort for a full 40 minutes, the season is running out. If the Utes win and New Mexico (19-11, 7-8 MWC) defeats Air Force (15-13, 6-9 MWC) in Albuquerque (likely) then Utah would get the six-seed in next week's Mountain West Conference Tournament. Any other combination from the two games and it's the seven-seed and a likely first-round match-up with ninth-ranked San Diego State. Of course, the six most likely means a first round match-up with UNLV on their home court. So, it won't be easy. But if Utah is to salvage what has been a rough season, it has to be done. I'll be on the scene tweeting from the UNLV game and back on the blog afterward for recap and analysis.
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